Kitgum Municipality has registered some progress in improving sanitation infrastructure and hygiene practices one year into a two-year sanitation project funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), with leaders now calling for extension of the programme beyond its scheduled end in 2027.
The project, implemented by Water for People in partnership with Kitgum District Local Government, Kitgum Municipality, Amuru District Local Government, Pabbo Town Council and several government ministries, aims to improve sanitation services for an estimated 39,280 people through the construction of household and school latrines, sanitation promotion and strengthening municipal waste management systems.
Presenting the project’s mid-term progress, Dr. Denis Omoya Ocula, the Principal health Officer of Kitgum Municipality, said baseline findings had revealed major sanitation challenges, including that 83.3 percent of households had never emptied their pit latrines, only 26 percent of fecal sludge was safely managed, while more than 70 percent of household latrines had unlined pits.Dr. Ocula said the assessment also found that 66.7 percent of households were willing to pay for pit-emptying services despite limited access to such services.
According to Dr. Ocula, the project has so far supported the construction of 31 new household latrine stances, upgraded 14 existing facilities and has another 30 under construction as part of efforts to increase access to improved sanitation.
He added that three gender-sensitive school latrine blocks are nearing completion, with construction standing at about 99 percent, while 142 learners have already been trained in menstrual hygiene management and proper sanitation practices.
“The facilities include handwashing stations and incinerators to support menstrual hygiene management for girls,” Dr. Ocula said.
The project has also invested in building local sanitation capacity by training 20 village sanitation promoters, 22 skilled masons to construct improved low-cost latrines, and conducting radio talk shows to promote sanitation awareness.
In addition, 30 handwashing promoters, three women’s groups in liquid soap production and 15 pit emptiers have been trained to strengthen sanitation services while creating livelihood opportunities.
Dr. Ocula said Kitgum Municipality has complemented the donor-funded activities by constructing sanitation facilities at markets and schools, introducing a public-private partnership for garbage management and undertaking municipal sanitation planning and enforcement.
Despite the progress, he said several priorities remain unfunded, including upgrading the municipality’s fecal sludge treatment facility, expanding support to sanitation entrepreneurs, improving sanitation coverage in schools and providing transport for health inspectors and technical staff to strengthen supervision and enforcement.
Water for People Uganda Country Director Brenda Aciro described the first year of implementation as encouraging, saying the programme had already produced measurable results.
Aciro said the project has strengthened sanitation value chains by supporting women’s groups producing liquid soap, training local masons to construct climate-resilient toilets and improving sanitation facilities in schools to keep girls in class during menstruation.”We’ve just completed one year, but we are glad to see mid-term outcomes and structures that will sustain this work,” Aciro said.
Dr. Katja Kerschbaumer, Head of the Austrian Embassy’s Development Cooperation, said investment in school sanitation directly improves learners’ health, attendance and academic performance, particularly for girls. She noted that safe, gender-sensitive sanitation facilities reduce disease transmission, improve dignity and help prevent school dropouts.
“Investing in school sanitation is not just a health measure but a foundation for equal education opportunities and long-term development,” Kerschbaumer said.
Kitgum Municipality Mayor Richard Ojara Okwera applauded the Austrian Development Agency and Water for People for what he described as a transformative intervention but urged the partners to extend the programme after its expiry in August 2027.
He appealed for a new five-year phase running to 2030 to enable sanitation improvements in five additional primary schools that were not covered under the current project.
Okwera also called for future investments to focus on waterborne toilet systems as Kitgum transitions towards city status.”Our sanitation needs remain enormous,” OKwera said. “Before you exit, we request that you extend support to the remaining schools and help us move towards waterborne sanitation systems.” URN